A CONTROLLED COMPARISON OF BUPRENORPHINE AND CLONIDINE FOR ACUTE DETOXIFICATION FROM OPIOIDS

We compared the short-term efficacy of a high-dose, 3 day regimen of b uprenorphine to a standard 5-day course of clonidine in attenuating th e signs and symptoms of the acute opioid abstinence syndrome during ra pid detoxification from heroin in 25 men and women admitted to a close d inpatient research ward for this randomized, double-blind, parallel- group trial. Among the 18 completers, there were no significant differ ences between the buprenorphine and clonidine groups on five subjectiv e and six physiological measures. However, clonidine lowered blood pre ssure and buprenorphine provided more effective early relief of withdr awal symptoms.